WIAW: Getting My Veggie On

Happy WAIW!  As always, mad props to the lovely Jenn of Peas & Crayons for hosting this delicious get-together.  These make my Wednesdays all the better!

After my cup of chai, I started my morning with 30 minutes on the elliptical, followed by 15 minutes of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) on the treadmill.  HIIT is great for cardiovascular health and torching calories, so I figure there's nothing to lose (pun intended) in busting my butt with even a brief HIIT routine.  Once I felt like my heart wasn't on the brink of explosion anymore, I followed it up by doing plank for a new personal record of 60 seconds.  Progress!


By the time my gym date was over, I could only think of one thing: breakfast.  My stomach growled ferociously.  I'm actually pretty sure it was trying to digest itself.

It was officially time for my daily smoothie (banana, Vega protein powder, almond milk, cooked spinach, frozen blueberries, and ice cubes).

The rest of my noms du jour are a study in veggies: I try to eat purely plant-based during the day so I can keep my meat and dairy intake relegated to dinner.  This helps me have a ton of healthy fruits, veggies, grains, and nuts during the day, which I can tell my body loves -- do you ever get that "Oh, my system is so happy with this!" feeling from your food?

I tend to be insatiably hungry, so I have to bring a lot of food to snack on.  My snacks were an organic pear, two Suzie's Thin Cakes with cashew butter, and carrots with hummus.  My lunch was organic baby greens with chickpeas, some leftover baked potato, and Organicville Sundried Tomato and Garlic Vinaigrette (which, BTW, I lurve).  It didn't make the photoshoot, but there was also some cantaloupe up in here.

Once I came home, I was ready for more food (that HIIT apparently revved up my metabolism something fierce!), so I had some pineapple in addition to more carrots and hummus.  Given all the hummus I eat, there's a very good chance I'll turn into a chickpea one of these days.

Dinner was a quinoa, chickpea (!!!!), grape, and chicken salad with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, and fresh basil.

Dessert featured a piece of the GF carrot cake I made for my husband's birthday yesterday -- I'm happy to report that despite the initial quasi-fail, the leftovers are delicious. :)

Hope everyone had an awesome Wednesday -- only a few more days until the weekend!  (Not that I'm counting or anything...ok, I totally am.) :)